Molecular characterization of Penicillium using ITS rDNA isolated from tomato in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

Penicillium is a genus of saprophytic fungi which feed on dead and decaying materials. This fungus is commonly known as blue or green mold. They are economically important for the production of cheese, organic acids, and antibiotics. They play an important role as a decomposer in the ecosystem. Penicillium includes several species, which can be a risky pathogenic fungus for the postharvest disease of vegetables, including tomatoes, and therefore have an impact on the fresh production of tomatoes. This study was conducted to isolate and identify Penicillium from a tomato field in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Therefore, this molecular study was conducted in 2023 at Limpopo University to identify the fungi associated with tomato filed from South Africa's soils using ITS rDNA marker. The DNA was extracted using the Chelex method. The fungus was identified as Penicillium. The Nblast analysis showed South African Penicillium has 99% similarity with a population from South Africa (MG975634). Phylogenetic analysis using maximum likelihood placed this species with those molecularly identified as Penicillium in the same clade with highly supported (100) bootstrap values. In conclusion, this species is identified using ITS rDNA properly. However, using other DNA markers for a better understanding of Penicillium phylogeny is recommended.